New solar farm for Parsons
PARSONS — A new solar farm will be built at the Great Plains Industrial Park in Parsons, according to The Chanute Tribune.
Members of the Great Plains Development Authority signed an agreement with Evergy on Dec. 18 to construct the solar farm.
Evergy will lease 24,000 acres for 30 years and will provide solar electricity generation with a capacity of 200 megawatts, enough energy to power more than 50,000 homes annually.
“It’s just another component of developing energy for use at the industrial park, which is in high demand right now,” said Brandon Sack, Evergy Clean Energy Development director.
Sack noted the energy company had been working toward building the solar farm since 2021.
Deep Fission details plans
PARSONS — Brad Reams, director of the Great Plains Industrial Park in Parsons, told board members at their Dec. 19 meeting that as part of the Trump administration’s Department of Energy’s Pilot Program, the new Deep Fission project’s permitting process was accelerated, according to the Parsons Sun.
Being fast-tracked, however, “does not circumvent all regulatory requirements,” Reams said.
The Nuclear Regulatory Commission “will have to sign off on Deep Fission’s plan before it can go critical,” he added.
“Going critical” means placing the fuel in the reactor and “turning it on by mid-2026, nothing more,” he said.
Reams explained some of the project’s phases, the Sun reported.
The first is to drill a calibration well, where the geology of the area is confirmed.
The second, expected in April, is to drill the main mile-deep borehole as well as obtain an underground infraction well permit from the Kansas Department of Health and Environment.
Phase three is to encase the borehole in concrete and cement to seal it from the subsurface geology.
“Finally, if the Department of Energy signs off on the project and gives it its required permits, Deep Fission can go critical with a small reactor,” Reams said.
The initial experimental reactor will be able to generate about 1 megawatt of energy.
